Panhandler case provokes serious questions

The article, “Confrontation over panhandling draws views” [Local, Feb. 2], was written in response to a video posted on YouTube that I also watched. The video details a confrontation between two men, one of whom was picking up his mother from a night of panhandling at the Irvine Town Center at 2 a.m. The other man questioned the first man's behavior.

Apparently the woman sits in her wheelchair and begs passersby for money, claiming her husband has died.

I was both deeply saddened and outraged by this disheartening video. This woman was dropped off at several locations and was expected to panhandle, but she had to do it in the late hours of the night and early hours in the morning during the cold month of December. As an emergency medical technician, I am trained to notice and report possible cases of elder abuse.

A few simple steps may help eliminate problems like these: Be more observant of unusual or deviant behavior toward elders and inform authorities of any suspected cases of elderly abuse. It's always better to take simple precautions that can make a difference to someone's life than to take none at all.

If we all make more of an effort to be more proactive, the world will be better off.

Shay Valencia

Anaheim

Nonsensical killings

The killing of veteran Chris Kyle and his friend makes no sense [“Dead SEAL barely knew suspect,” Nation, Feb. 5]. My father-in-law, who is now a 90-year-old World War II veteran, along with countless other veterans from his generation, came home after seeing the horrific aspects of war and built a nation of values, went to college, raised families, entered the workforce, were successful and created probably the most successful economic, ethical and moral time in our nation's history.

They sacrificed and resolved to make this country the great nation it is. Our veterans need help for their valor and service to this country, but why has the number of incidences like the one that happened to Kyle risen during the past 10 years? Are we missing something as a nation to help our veterans?

Something does not add up and deserves good dialogue so all this stops. Gun-control laws will not stop it.

Drew Kovacs

Huntington Beach

The truth about autism

J. Jay Gargus, a doctor who is developing “autism drugs,” defines autism as a “disease” [“Spark of Innovation,” Commentary, Feb. 3]. Really? Then we'd better not come in contact with any autistics or we might all catch it. He is looking for drugs that might “cure” it.

I am a “high-functioning” autistic. And I do not wish to be “cured.” I regard myself as having a gift which allows me to see the beauty of the world, while everyone else is running around, jabbering into their cell phones. Gargus thinks folks like me should be brought into the social world through lifelong application of drugs. Perhaps if he had his way, we deviants would be forced into his world.

I don't know any autistics who want to be anything other than what they are. Publishing articles like this does a terrible disservice.

Susie Atkinson

Long Beach

A rising immigration tide

President Barack Obama and his cronies vow to address immigration reform. Bipartisan or not, these elected officials are simply posturing (again) about a problem that has grown during the past 30 years. Seemingly, nobody has a clue what to do.

There is already a clear pathway to citizenship in this country. Those who are serious and compassionate enough about living here legally will follow that pathway. They will earn their citizenship, something illegal immigrants refuse to do. And why should they? Nobody holds them accountable. They make money illegally, without paying taxes. They send their illegal earnings out of this country to their families in their beloved Mexico.

Greed is at the root of the problem. However, it is not the illegal immigrant's greed I refer to, but, rather, rich business owners who hire these illegal immigrants to increase profit margins. This is the problem. This is where the line must be drawn before anything else.

And it will never change. He or she who has the gold makes the rules. This has been happening for years, without penalty. We searched for the root of the problem, and it lies right here with our own greedy, nonlaw-abiding citizens.

William McCoy

Fullerton

If you thought the tsunami waves that hit Japan were something, wait until Obama's amnesty proposal takes effect. Our southern borders will be swamped with illegal immigrants trying to cash in, in addition to the 11 million illegals who are already here.

Darrell R. Schmidt

Mission Viejo

Gangs and guns

Gun-control opponents cite Chicago and Mexico as places with both strict gun controls and high numbers of gun-related homicides. However, almost all gun homicides there are due to gang members killing each other over drugs or territory, posing little direct threat to others in their community, which is a very different breed of bad guy than the mentally deranged males who committed mass murders of innocent civilians and bystanders in Columbine, Tucson, Aurora (Denver), Seal Beach and Sandy Hook.

Stricter background checks and other gun-control measures will do little to deter the gangster bad guys from killing their rivals. But they will lessen the likelihood that the crazy bad guys can buy and use high-capacity, rapid-firing military weapons.

Robert C. Belloli

Placentia

The National Rifle Association is at it again: “NRA likens universal checks to gun registry” [News, Feb. 4]. Where in the Constitution or in the rule of common sense does it say that all potentially lethal weapons cannot be treated equally?

Why shouldn't responsible gun owners be registered, too?

Arthur Friedman

Newport Beach

Degrees of responsibility

In response to letter-writer Bill Campbell's statement, “Climate change is real – and we must deal with it” [“Climate change is real,” Feb. 4], I say: talk to China.

The world's largest polluter, by far, will continue to do so – probably past our lifetimes. So by pushing this agenda you raise fixed energy costs for the middle class and struggling families that are just trying to make ends meet.

Does a couple of degrees in temperature rank higher than a decent livelihood?

It's tyranny by the majority against those in the minority.

Christian Crampton

Newport Beach

A ‘great' mystery

If the Great Park is so great, why is there no signage from the freeway or on local streets directing us to the “Great Park”? Millions spent, but no sign?

Carol Graham

Orange

Stallone shoots from lip

Actor Sylvester Stallone supports the new gun control legislation? This from a man who has made his living making films that glorify violence.

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